Current Population Survey, 2004: Cell Phone Supplement (ICPSR 4347)

Principal Investigator(s):
United States Department of Commerce. Bureau of the Census;
United States Department of Labor. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Summary:

This data collection is comprised of responses from two
sets of survey questionnaires, the basic Current Population Survey
(CPS) and a supplemental survey on the topic of cell phone use in the
United States, which was primarily administered in February 2004. An
additional sample of respondents was given the supplemental survey
with the November 2004 CPS.
The CPS, administered monthly, is a labor force survey providing
current estimates of the economic status and activities of the
population of the United States. Specifically, the CPS provides
estimates of total employment (both farm and nonfarm), nonfarm
self-employed persons, domestics, and unpaid helpers in nonfarm family
enterprises, wage and salaried employees, and estimates of total
unemployment. The CPS is conducted in approximately 56,000-57,000
households.
The Cell Phone supplement contained household-level questions and
provides data about household use of regular landline telephones and
household use of cell phones. Respondents were specifically asked
about the amount of cell phone usage, the number of landlines in the
home, the different uses for the landlines (e.g., for computer lines
or fax machines), how many members of the household had a working cell
phone number, how many cell phones each member of the household
had, whether the cell phones were answered by more than one household
member, and the number of the calls the household received via cell
phone.
Demographic variables include age, sex, race, Hispanic origin,
marital status, veteran status, educational attainment, occupation,
and income.

This data collection is comprised of responses from two
sets of survey questionnaires, the basic Current Population Survey
(CPS) and a supplemental survey on the topic of cell phone use in the
United States, which was primarily administered in February 2004. An
additional sample of respondents was given the supplemental survey
with the November 2004 CPS.

The CPS, administered monthly, is a labor force survey providing
current estimates of the economic status and activities of the
population of the United States. Specifically, the CPS provides
estimates of total employment (both farm and nonfarm), nonfarm
self-employed persons, domestics, and unpaid helpers in nonfarm family
enterprises, wage and salaried employees, and estimates of total
unemployment. The CPS is conducted in approximately 56,000-57,000
households.

The Cell Phone supplement contained household-level questions and
provides data about household use of regular landline telephones and
household use of cell phones. Respondents were specifically asked
about the amount of cell phone usage, the number of landlines in the
home, the different uses for the landlines (e.g., for computer lines
or fax machines), how many members of the household had a working cell
phone number, how many cell phones each member of the household
had, whether the cell phones were answered by more than one household
member, and the number of the calls the household received via cell
phone.

Study Description

Citation

United States Department of Commerce. Bureau of the Census, and United States Department of Labor. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Current Population Survey, 2004: Cell Phone Supplement. ICPSR04347-v2. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2008-03-13. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR04347.v2

Unit of Observation:
For the basic CPS questions, the unit of observation was individuals within housing units, and for the Cell Phone supplement households were the unit of observation.

Universe:
The universe for the basic CPS consists of all persons aged 15 and older in the civilian noninstitutional population of the United States living in households. The Cell Phone Use supplement universe included households: (1) where at least one person completed
the basic CPS, (2) that contained a landline phone and cell phone in the household, (3) that were not a replacement household in the
sample, and (4) whose month-in-sample rotation groups were 2, 3, 5, 6,
and 7.

Data Type(s):
survey data

Data Collection Notes:

Users are strongly encouraged to refer to the User Guide (produced by the Principal Investigators), which contains not only information about the basic monthly CPS, but also detailed technical documentation specific to the Cell Phone Supplement. In particular, Attachment 8 of the User Guide contains the supplement questionnaire.

The universe statements for each variable are defined in either the basic or supplement record layout, which are located in Attachments 6 and 7, respectively, of the User Guide.

ICPSR removed all FILLER and PADDING variables from the data. As a result, the column locations in any ICPSR-released data product (e.g., codebook and setup files) will have column locations that are not consistent with locations described in the User Guide.

Methodology

Sample:

The CPS uses a multistage probability sample based on the results of the decennial Census files, with coverage in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. When files from the most recent Decennial
Census become available, the Census Bureau gradually introduces a new
sample design for the CPS.

In the first stage of the sampling process, the United States was
divided into 2,007 primary sampling units (PSUs), which correspond to
substate areas, counties, or groups of counties that are
geographically contiguous. The PSUs were grouped into 754 strata, and
one PSU was selected for sample from each stratum, with its
probability of selection proportional to its population as of the most
recent decennial census. This PSU represents the entire stratum from
which it was selected. In the case of strata consisting of only one
PSU, the PSU is chosen with certainty.

Approximately 73,000 housing units were selected for sample from
the mixed sampling frame in February 2004. Based on eligibility
criteria, 11 percent of these housing units were sent directly to
Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI). The remaining units
were assigned to interviewers for Computer-Assisted Personal
Interviewing (CAPI). Of all housing units in sample, about 60,000 were
determined to be eligible for interview. Interviewers obtained
interviews at about 56,000 of these units. Noninterviews occurred when
the occupants were not found at home after repeated calls or were
unavailable for some other reason.

Respondents were only eligible to receive the supplemental cell
phone survey if they had both a landline and a cell phone.

Users are strongly encouraged to refer to the User Guide for
additional information on sample redesign and estimation
procedures.

Weight:
The data contain one weight variable, HWSUPWGT (Cell Phone Supplement Weight), which should be used for tallying households in the file. Users are advised to refer to the User Guide for additional information about using the weight variable.

Version(s)

Original ICPSR Release: 2008-03-13

Version History:

2011-12-21 The ASCII data for this collection have been completely replaced. The data collection has been updated to include SAS, SPSS, and Stata setup files for use with the new data. Also included in the update are a corresponding SAS transport (CPORT) file, SPSS system file, Stata system file, and a tab-delimited version of the new ASCII data.